The Incredible Letter Charles Krauthammer Sent a Recently Paralyzed Man Shows What Kind of Person He Was
Thousands are mourning the recent passing of Charles Krauthammer, a legendary and beloved conservative columnist who died at 68-years-old after a brief battle with cancer.
In an emotional letter to his readers earlier this month, Krauthammer broke the news that he was near the end of his life.
“I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living,” he wrote. “I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.”
Now, shortly after his death, a formerly untold story about Krauthammer only further confirms that he truly did live an admirable life.
On Wednesday, Nash Jenkins, a writer for Time Magazine, wrote a series of tweets recounting a touching act of kindness from Krauthammer that happened one year ago.
Nash explained that his father met Krauthammer at an event in Washington in 2016.
Until that meeting, Nash hadn’t known Krauthammer’s story — that at 22-years-old, during his first year at Harvard Medical School, he became permanently paralyzed from the neck down after a diving board accident.
https://twitter.com/pnashjenkins/status/1009927830396899328
Nash explained that the following year, his father suffered a terrible accident that left him — like Krauthammer — paralyzed.
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Nash then shared a personal letter that Krauthammer wrote to his father when he heard about the accident.
https://twitter.com/pnashjenkins/status/1009930238023950336
“I heard about your accident,” Krauthammer said. “I’m so sorry. I enjoyed meeting you last year and am deeply sympathetic to your new and most harrowing situation. As you know, I’ve been there.”
“I know full well how difficult things are at the beginning and how often hopeless they seem,” he continued. “I also know what’s possible. And it turns out to be quite a lot.”
“I don’t mean to sugarcoat things,” Krauthammer said. “Life is more difficult with a spinal cord injury. But the obstacles are not insurmountable.”
“I’m fully aware of how terribly discouraging it is to have to put in twice the effort for gains that seem so meager at the beginning,” he added. “But I can assure you that it can be done. And then it is rewarded.”
“I wish only to assure you from my own experience of 45 years post-accident that it can be a very good life indeed,” Krauthammer concluded. “I hope this is helpful. I wish you all the best in your recovery.”
Nash explained that in spite of anything political differences, he will “always be so grateful” for Krauthammer’s thoughtful gesture.
“Krauthammer knew what to say at a time when virtually no one did, and he took the time to say it, and it meant so, so much.”
https://twitter.com/pnashjenkins/status/1009931274067341313
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Krauthammer lived a life marked by thoughtfulness, persistence, kindness and wisdom — and he lived that way through his final days on earth.
We can only hope for more like him.
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